Just saw yet another "Harry, Hermione, and Draco" list in a summary for a Teh Weasley's Are So Ebil (except for Fred and George) fic, which lead to this:

Fifth year Slytherin Harry receives a nasty shock regarding most of his 'friendships' with his House Mates. The Parkinsons were using him for his money, and Malfoy's been talking shit about him and his Mudblood mother behind his back. Davis and Bulstrode have been selling his belongings to Romilda Vane, who has been disseminating them to various stalkers in turn, and Zabini payed off Marietta Edgecombe to set Harry and Cho Chang up for a humiliating dinner surrounded by reporters at Madame Puddifoot's, only for Daphne Greengrass to follow him up with an attempt to dose Harry with Amortentia at dinner a week later.

Of course it spirals off into a typical Indy-Harry bit: everyone around Harry is evil, he needs new friends and to take control of his life, Gringott's helpfully throws him out on his ass because "the goblins do not respond kindly to fools who think that we must babysit their sorry asses. When it comes to knowing what the hell you're doing, you snooze, you lose", Ministry regulations keep him from finding anyone not associated with the Pureblood elite to help him untangle his finances from the mess the Parkinsons left them in, and in the end he is left with only one recourse: the only unaffiliated-but-brilliant witch at Hogwarts and her sidekick with his startlingly well connected family.

 

It sounds like something I've thought about a lot. As much as I like the concepts of Harry Potter's story in Dresden's world, I haven't been disciplined enough to put stuff down on paper. It's not high on my list of story ideas, but it's there.

One thought that I'd had was to have the Merlin be Albus. He already is listed as carying around a wand that he uses in battle. For that matter, Wanda are used in the Dresden Files by several people. It's more that staffs are what Harry and several of the other wardens that we have seen use. Elaine and Molly both use wands, the current Merlin, and I think I'm forgetting some of the others. I'm all for kicking this around more- would it be better to do so in the Dresden section since its that world?

 

It'll get more eyes here, so unless a mod says otherwise, keep on trucking.

Problem with using Albus as Merlin is that we have strong knowledge of the Merlin as a character in relation to how he treats Dresden, which isn't anywhere near how Albus would. I mean, I could see Albus as a colleague of sorts to the Blackstaff, and a thorn in the Merlin's side either on his own or as the head of a premier magical location like Hogwarts.

 

Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it. Keep your pants on. Still, there are four chapters out already, so feel free to go take a peek (Why We Fight).

 

Right, and that was more the initial thought that I'd had when I was glancing over the possibility of a crossover. I like the thought that Albus is impressive, but not the highest figure in the White Counsel. The premier magical location raises a few questions for me, related to how much of the structures you use from Harry Potter.

Harry Potter has several important societal structures that are important to the story. The first and most important is a school of magic- Hogwarts. As this is the focal point of the story, I don't think you'd be able to stay true to the feeling without it. Dovetailing into this are the magical communities in London and Hogsmead. These reflect both the hidden side of the community (something which DF does differently) but also the interconnectedness of the magical community. You can hand wave the floos into secure Nevernever crossovers, but a sad point is that in Dresden's world, we have much less of a view of a day-to-day magical community.

The difference isn't terribly lost from a utilitarian standpoint- much of the supplies that you find in Diagon are taken care of either in the muggle world or created by practitioners. Foci in Dresden's universe aren't made by Wandmakers, but are rather a reflection of the caster on several levels. If you look past huge shopping trips though, the thing that Harry Potter has is the feel of a magical place that Dresden rarely- if ever- visits. While this may simply be Dresden's point of view, it also sets something of a precedent.

The final social structure is the Ministry of Magic. While it shows up as little more then a reference in the first few books, it plays an important part in the later portion of the series. I'm not sure how such a structure could fit into the Dresdenverse, but I'm not sure that I want to.

On the note of people creating their own foci, Arthur Weasly would be absolutely terrifying with all his tinkering.

 

No.

Characterlimit

 

If you keep Dumbledore's original backstory you could have him as a wizard who refused to accept a place on the Senior Council but is still incredibly influential among the Council's general membership. No one doubts his magical ability and he's often called upon to advise various members of the Senior Council but he shies away from official power, preferring instead to head the school that the original Merlin's apprentices created to protect young wizards from supernatural predators while they were trained.

In terms of structures I imagine that the White Council would replace the Ministry of Magic, right? Or that if the Ministry existed it would be as some form of sub-department of the Council? We already know from Dresden canon that the Council divides large countries like America into distinct regions under the authority of a Warden.

 

I'd replace the Ministry outright. We know so few characters from inside it it really doesn't matter. We'd have maybe two dozen or so names for wizards and witches in Britain instead, and use the extended wizarding families to contrast with the USA's system, which is of course much younger and less entrenched in familial groups or even a schooling network.

 

The recent discussion on plagiarism, continuation and inspiration made me wonder if there was a story in me which wouldn't be there without direct inspiration by another fanfiction. Obviously, general action/adventure tropes, epicness and world-building are all things that have impressed me in great fictions like LoM and anything by Joe etc. but I was thinking more specifically:

'Is there a story that covers something that I'd want to do in my own way, which I would not have thought of, ordinarily?'

The answer was of course, yes. I thought of Hitchups and Son of the Western Sea. Since then, I've had these ideas that aren't quite ready to be a story yet, but feel like it could turn into one.

Harry Potter told the world that he was the master of the hallows, and then he didn't snap the wand. Instead, he returned it to the tomb of the last man worthy of it. Being the master of a fickle wand, and the key to breaking centuries of violent transfers of ownership, a career battling deranged criminals suddenly seems a bit . . . irresponsible. And, anyway, after a year of traipsing around miserable English countryside a change of scenery sounds distinctly appealing.

Over the course of a few months at The Burrow, Arthur, Harry and Ron build up and make magic a shitty little, excellent Punto or Yaris or something time appropriate (not Sirius' bike).

Then, Harry, Harry + Ron, Harry + Ginny (don't give me that, she could be cool if written as the sort of Molly Carpenter-esque leading lady JKR wanted her to be) go south. Harry could begin his journey in London, seeing it as a 'tourist' for the first time, and pick up Neville if he's not up to much for BAMF times travelling.

In my mind, Harry would go south through France to Spain, across the med amphibiously, into Africa. Down to South Africa, then across to Asia and up to Japan.

Travelling partners would swap in and out. For example, Ginny would shoot off to Hogwarts in August, and Ron might swap in. Or he might run into Krum after a match in Germany, etc.

I've got rough guides for a few countries, and could draw on the local folk lore as well as extending Potter Canon, for interesting interactions. The large appeal in my mind is the changing magical cultures, creatures and magics as he travels increasingly farther from Great Britain.

I've already got some ideas for basically oneshots, which wouldn't be terribly dissimilar from Dream of the Endless stories, narratively - in that there would be a complete little story about something, in which Harry would pop in as the deux ex machina and pop off again, leaving a lasting impact. And that'd be fun to write because you could do a short horror story, or a short love story, or whatever you want.

Anyway, this goes on etc. etc. . . . and he comes away richer for the experience.

Sound interesting?

I'm entering my final year, and I have another story I'm going through very slowly, so this is open for adoption. But, if I did get round to it and could write it well enough, what are your thoughts at the present time?

Disclaimer: I left out make a wish, because I can't remember it hardly at all. I remember a fight with a gangster in a hotel, and that it's Harry travelling for some reason and that's about it. I can't remember if he's an adult or if it's post-voldemort or not, so . . . it's not figuring in this as much as the two I'd reference for the inspiration.

 

One idea that has been in my head recently that I won’t pursue until I finish my Dresden story if ever is Sirius Black and James Potter, stressed out from the ongoing war enter one of the first Dakar Rallies.

We know Sirius was into motorcycles and it’s easy to imagine James also jumping in just to compete, ‘the danger would have made it fun’ and all that. A freshly married or a year or two in James and Lily get a rally car and race Sirius’s Triumph from Paris to Dakar, fighting Nundu, tribal wizards and the elements as they try to recapture some of the joy in magic they had in Hogwarts as the world increasingly grows grimmer.

I don’t really have much of a plot for it, more it would be cool to have a sort of Le Mans feel along with random wizarding interrupts.

 

Blorcyn, I actually had an idea for a story with a similar initial premise recently, though it's supposed to be much more broody and introspective.

Basically, a month after the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry has a hard time moving on with his life. He's not comfortable with his greater-than-ever fame, feels purposeless, and he tries making sense of all the fucked up shit that's happened to him over his life. He decides that Dumbledore's explanations aren't enough for him; he wants to figure out the what transformations Voldemort went, understand how the old magic that his mother and him invoked works, the nature of prophecies, the Deathly Hallows, Parsentongue in different cultures (in this story he would still have the ability), the history of Horcruxes, wandlore... you get my drift. So, he embarks on a journey around the world, from the Shamans of Siberia to the Oracle of Delphi and the Library of Alexandria, seeking answers and ruminating on all that's happened to him, trying to make sense of it all, and picking out some cool magic along the way.

The story begins a year and a half after the Battle of Hogwarts, when he meets a female classmate he barely knew from Hogwarts, in Alexandria. The girl may or may not be a spy, sent to figure out what he's up to. He tells her about his adventures (a la Interview With The Vampire), though we hear his thoughts on some details that he keeps to himself.

...Not sure where to go from there, but that's the general idea. Maybe a doomsday cult tries to recreate some apocalyptic ritual as the new millennium approaches, in the belief that the end of the world is coming, and he has to stop them, along with the girl he met.

 

Yay for Harry travelling, I think his character + some worldliness and sophistication… It would be nice.

:facepalm

 

Atram Noctem,

Yeah, as above, broody and introspective can be good but it isn't the draw to me that it once was, but if it was good . . .

The bit that most made me go ooh (along with the interesting magical ideas) is the Harry Potter meets Interview with a Vampire. That sorta narrative could actually be really awesome to read as a Harry Potter story. You'd just need to come up with a retrospective story worthy of it, with a heaped tablespoon of unreliable narrator and a big fat dollop of strong characterisation, the action a spicy accompaniment on the side.

 

A twist on the "HP characters get HP books" cliche:


Several weeks before Harry enters Diagon Alley for the first time, Rita Skeeter is visited by a hooded individual.

This person, simply introducing himself as Mr. Bat, gives Rita a package containing what he calls "a very detailed vision of future events". He then tells her that she should read at least some of it before deciding what to do with this vision.

After Mr. Bat leaves, Rita looks through the package and discovers all seven "Harry Potter" books, which somehow show an incredibly detailed prophecy of the next seven years.

After only skimming through them, Rita contacts the Daily Prophet and soon the Potter Books are released to the world under her name.

Perhaps Rita should have actually read these books before doing so, because maybe then she would have acted more carefully.

As it was, she made the worst possible decision and now everyone could see what was going to happen.

Including people like Severus Snape, Cornelius Fudge, Dolores Umbridge, Lucius Malfoy and of course Lord Voldemort.

After only reading through the first book, Dumbledore attempts to negate the damage already done (by moving the Philosopher's Stone for example), but by that time it's too late.

Voldemort knows the prophecy, changes the location of his Horcruxes, knows the Ring is the Resurrection Stone and decides to completely ignore Harry.

Peter Pettigrew escapes the Weasleys to avoid being found out, Barty Crouch Sr. hides his son in a completely different place...

By the time Harry enters the wizarding world, a lot has changed.

 

I can't see Voldemort completely ignoring Harry when it would be easier to have Quirrell kidnap him at some point between points A and B to keep the Scar-crux safe from potential do-good assassins.

 

With Voldemort proven to be alive and chained to reality the Death Eaters should be arrested on short notice, no matter how incompetent Fudge may be. An Auror task force(under Madam Bones/Scrimgeor) sent out to locate and obliterate his Horcruxes. Crouch Sr should likewise be arrested for smuggling a prisoner from Azkaban, Sirius at the very least given a trial if he isn't released/exonerated in time, Snape is proven useless as a spy while we're at it, and Dumbledore should be doing everything in his power to protect Harry. Given that Dumbledore ran a vigilante group against the Ministry I would also see him being given a large degree of crap if he remains at Hogwarts, even if he was doing so in the purpose of defeating Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

Also, new Death Stick masters-to-be would begin hounding Dumbledore for duels(and seeing that it is explained how easily mastership of the wand passes, from Dumbledore to Draco to Harry that should not be that hard to expect, though this is Dumbledore after all, so maybe not). Dumbledore may also go out of his way to acquire the Deathly Hallows again at some point.

On the other hand to the above bit on the Aurors, since Quirell was already host to Voldemort, I could see the Philosopher's Stone being hit and stolen from Gringotts before Dumbledore could move it and then we have a renewed Dark Lord to contend with, who would then be on his way to move all his Horcruxes.

I dunno, maybe I'm taking this too seriously and sucking the fun out of the concept.

 

Maybe you should do "HP characters get books that are about HP characters that got HP books".

Or maybe, we need to go deeper.

 

Tracing the source of prophecy back to a little known muggle pub in the early 1990s Voldemort kills the squibb, Joann Rowling - and subsequently alters reality on a fundamental level. The Grandmother Paradox, if you will. Without Rowling completing her first manuscript of Harry Potter and the Philsopher's Stone the wizarding world is erased from existence from 1990 onward, living on in the unfinished pages where some other poor author will one day find the dusty draft, take up the pen, and give rise to cliche riddled literary failures matched only by their resultant impact upon the paused wizarding world.

Until, that is, the right man picks it up. A man by the name of Joe.

 

So I was in the bath and reading one of the Mass Effect novels and had this idea.

So Vernon is kinda big,surly and likes to yell. So Imagine an Uncle Vernnon with the personality of Urdnot Wrex.

 

So the Battle of Hogwarts went a lot worse than in canon, Ron, Ginny, and a lot of other people who survived in the books died. Harry defeated Voldemort, but the good guys lost so many people that the success of the war isn’t guaranteed. In order to ensure peace Kingsley offers amnesty to most of the rank and file Death Eaters, and reduced sentences for all but the most notorious.

Harry and his surviving friends are horrified by this turn of events and reeling from their losses vow to bring the Death Eaters to justice. They start out with a code of ethics, the evidence of guilt must be overwhelming, the crime must have been heinous, and the perpetrator must have escaped justice. They even vote on who to kill, and a verdict must be unanimous.

This goes well for a few months, but soon they realize that the Aurors are closing in on them and they almost agree to call it quits. But Neville wants to kill one last person, Bellatrix Lestrange. This causes some disagreement in the group since Bellatrix has already been sentenced to serve life in Azkaban. But since everyone in the group knew someone Bellatrix killed, they all eventually agree.

With the help of contacts in the Ministry Neville is able to sneak into the holding cells and kill Lestrange before she can be transferred to Azkaban. But before he can escape Neville is captured.

Although Neville refuses to name who his coconspirators were, Kingsley is smart enough to realize that Harry was involved. So he threatens Harry with arrest if he doesn’t leave the country.

From there there’s a five year time skip before Harry returns older, smarter, and determined to get revenge on the remaining death eaters.